Women’s Lacrosse Team Sends ‘Morgan’s Message’ – You Are Not Alone!

The women’s varsity lacrosse team had a special message to share during their game Tuesday: You are not alone.

It was a signing game, where players and coaches highlighted mental health awareness for student-athletes.

The message is part of “Morgan’s Message,” a nonprofit organization named in honor of Morgan Rodgers, a high-profile athlete who quietly struggled with mental health issues after a devastating injury. Like many student-athletes, Morgan placed much of his self-worth in his abilities as an athlete. She was fierce, driven, committed to everything she encountered and everything she did. Yet she kept her mental health issues to herself, thinking no one would understand.

Women’s college lacrosse coach Samantha Schwartz heard about the organization at a physical education conference in 2022. As a former athlete, the message of caring for the mental health of student-athletes resonated resonated with her, and as a coach, she knew she wanted to bring this to Pine Bush.

“This was an important message for our team to embrace, as many young people, and especially student-athletes, struggle with the pressures associated with their performance and must balance everything they have in their lives”said Coach Schwartz. “We hope that starting the conversation will help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues and encourage a culture of support for all areas of our student-athletes’ health and well-being.”

Pine Bush lacrosse players wore the Morgan’s Message butterfly logo on their shirts Tuesday and they created inspirational posters to share with everyone.

Many Pine Bush players participated in signing games on their club lacrosse teams, Coach Schwartz said. There is a strong presence within the lacrosse community, as Morgan Rodgers was a lacrosse player at Duke. However, this initiative has spread to several sports at the high school and college level and is well known in the sports community.